Prescription drug use at an all time high amongst the American people. CALL US TODAY 949 292 2000

Oklahoma- The holidays can be a stressful and even depressing time for many people. Statistics have shown that drug abuse increases during this period as many can turn to drugs as a way to alleviate strain during the holiday season. However this year, more and more people are turning to prescription drugs with the abuse of these medications skyrocketing nationwide.

According to data released by the Department of Health and Human Services, nearly half of the American population is taking at least one prescription drug, with one in six taking three or more. American people from all different socio-economic backgrounds are seeking out prescription medication for various reasons; some getting hooked after taking the medications for an illness or ailment and others who fall into the trap of addiction because they begin taking drugs to help them deal with some mental or emotional problem.

“[Americans] have a penchant for going for the quick fix,” says Dr. Lon Castle, Senior Director of the Department of Medical and Analytical Affairs for Medco. “They want medications to treat their problems rather than trying diet and exercise or lifestyle changes, which might also be effective.”

According to Castle, prescription drugs may not be the best route to take when hoping to change your lifestyle physically or emotionally. They may also be the least beneficial when it comes to health. Although there are a number of prescription drugs which can assist an individual of poor health, many people are taking prescription drugs which do little to benefit them causing side effects; the primary one being addiction.

“We’re taking drugs we really need and we don’t, but the body doesn’t know the difference when it comes to side effects,” says Dr. Mark H. Beers, professor of medicine at the University of Miami School of Medicine and editor-in-chief emeritus of Merck Manuals.

The solution to better health may reside in a simple change in diet and exercise but it for those already addicted the only solution may be through successful rehabilitation.

One drug rehab center, Wits Inn Recovery is seeing a huge increase in the number of admissions into their treatment facility for prescription drug addiction. Derry Hallmark, Senior Director for Expansion for the center explains that this is not uncommon considering the number of people currently taking prescriptions.

“Of course if an individual has to take these medications for an illness or injury that’s one side of it,” says Hallmark. “But because of the addictive qualities of most prescriptions both doctor’s and patients have to be aware of how easily someone can get hooked on them. And, doctors have to watch out for those already addicted who are trying to get fraudulent prescriptions.”

Hallmark adds that drug rehab, like the type delivered by Wits Inn Recovery is effective in handling any type of prescription drug addiction and that the type of treatment that works best for prescriptions is one that handles both the mental and physical aspects of the problem.

For more information on getting help for you or someone you know who is struggling with a prescription drug addiction contact Wits Inn Treatment Referral today at 949 292 2000

You have read the blogs and seen the placards a dozen times: doctors prescribe too many “drugs” for too many patients. Psychiatrists, in particular, are popular targets of politically motivated language that seeks to conflate the words “medication” and “drug”—thereby tapping into the public’s understandable fears concerning “drug abuse” and its need to carry out a “War on Drugs.” Misleading radio ads promise “drug-free” treatment of panic disorder (certainly possible, but not always achievable) and the Internet bristles with the phrase, “psychiatric drugging.” (My Google search pulled up 9310 results.) And, all too predictably, any physician who argues that psychotropic medication is often an effective and lifesaving intervention is hustled off to the perp line of “drug-company shills.”

All this will not surprise students of language, history, and philosophy. Those who control language are well positioned to control thought and behavior. If government officials can persuade the public that killing innocent civilians is merely “collateral damage,” they have gone a long way toward justifying the carpet-bombing of a village. If the forces of antipsychiatry—and they are alive and well—can persuade the public that psychiatry is “drugging” people, they have gone a long way toward marginalizing and discrediting the profession. To understand how powerful the words “drug” and “drugging” are, imagine the feckless campaign that would be waged if the perennial protesters in front of the American Psychiatric Association’s Annual Meeting carried signs that read, “Psychiatrists: Stop Medicating Your Patients!

Is this all merely a matter of “semantics” or—in the parlance of postmodernism—“competing narratives”? Is there any scientific reason to distinguish “drugs” from “medications”? And finally, what are our ethical obligations as healers when medication is administered, either voluntarily or involuntarily?

There is, of course, a qualified scientific case to be made against overuse of some psychotropic medications. In the first place, we have far too many medications that employ the same old mechanism of action, with only modest efficacy, and too many unacceptable adverse effects. The so-called atypical antipsychotics (AAPs) are good examples. With the exception of clozapine—and possibly risperidone and olanzapine, according to a meta-analysis—the AAPs are not substantially more effective than the first-generation neuroleptics.1 Meta-analyses, of course, must be viewed cautiously, since the studies that compose them may be flawed or biased, and unpublished “negative” studies may be excluded, as my colleague S. Nassir Ghaemi, MD, has pointed out.2 Thankfully, decreased rates of tardive dyskinesia with the AAPs are a bright spot in this otherwise dour assessment, and this is no trivial gain.

Nonetheless, the metabolic adverse effects of the AAPs (weight gain, lipid and glucose dysregulation, and so on) are substantial problems and call into question the goal of expanding the labeled “nonpsychotic” indications for these medications.3 We sorely need to escape from the “D2–5-HT2–me too” paradigm—antipsychotics that block mainly dopamine-2 and various serotonin receptors—and uncover more fundamental mechanisms of antipsychotic action. Critics of psychiatry are indeed justifiably skeptical regarding “Big Pharma’s” concerted efforts to expand the use of AAPs to the treatment of nonpsychotic conditions, for which effective and better-tolerated medications are already available. And yes—many of these same critics are quite properly alarmed at the decreasing use of psychotherapy in psychiatric practice.4

Methamphetamine addiction can wreak havoc on your life and on the lives of those around you. Call Recovery Connection today at 949-292-2000 to find a treatment program capable of helping you though this difficult time. Your call is toll-free and confidential. We have counselors standing by 24/7, so call now and start on the path to recovery.

Methamphetamine Effects

Methamphetamine greatly stimulates a person’s central nervous system and the euphoric feeling can last anywhere from a few hours to as long as twenty four hours. Methamphetamine addiction can cause short and long term adverse physical and mental effects which may include:

Elevated blood pressure

Hypertension

Chest pain

Irreversible damage to blood vessels in the brain

Heart Attack

Accelerated heart beat

Stroke

Insomnia

Aggressive behavior

Jerky movements

Paranoia

Incessant conversations

Convulsions

Hypothermia

Brain damage

Malnutrition

Decrease in appetite

Increase in alertness

Increased physical activity

Increased irritability

Impaired immune system

Blood clots

Kidney disorders

Liver damage

Additional physical effects of methamphetamine addiction or abuse can include:

Slurred speech

Dilated pupils

Grinding of the teeth

Dizziness

Confusion

Respiratory distress

Sweats

Loss of coordination

Numbness

Methamphetamine Addiction – Psychological Methamphetamine Effects

The use and abuse of methamphetamine, or crystal meth, can cause effects which can often resemble several types of mental illnesses. These psychological effects may include:

Visual and auditory hallucinations

Obsessive behaviors

Intense anger and paranoia

Panic attacks

Depression

Methamphetamine Addiction Withdrawal Symptoms

Withdrawal from methamphetamines is extremely uncomfortable and in some cases life threatening. Methamphetamine addiction withdrawal symptoms may include:

Drug cravings

Nausea

Irritability

Depression

Loss of energy

Insomnia

Sweats

Hyperventilation

Convulsions

Irregular heart beat

Because of the severity of this withdrawal, many people choose to enter detox or methamphetamine addiction treatment programs to assist them in coping with these symptoms. In addition to withdrawal, crystal meth can affect many other areas of a person’s life, including placing their job at risk, damaging their relationships and ruining their financial stability. Quality treatment in a professional addiction recovery center is required for a safe and effective recovery from this dangerously addictive drug.

Treatment for Methamphetamine Addiction

It takes time to resolve both the emotional and physical trauma people experience due to methamphetamine addiction. It also takes time to learn how to cope with the feelings the person has suppressed. This process is best undergone in a supportive therapeutic environment (www.wirecovery.com) which is designed to eliminate outside distractions. This allows the individual to focus on the key issues surrounding their recovery.

If you or someone you know needs help with methamphetamine addiction, or for immediate assistance in finding a reputable drug rehab center, please call Recovery Connection now at 949-292-2000. Help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and your call is toll-free and confidential. In a time when you feel so alone, it is important to know that there are people who can still help. Don’t wait – CALL 949 292 2000

An Illinois House committee has forwarded legislation to the full House that would make marijuana for medicinal purposes legal in this state.

A number of states – Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington among them – have decriminalized marijuana when it is used for medical purposes.

Although more states are considering similar legislation, we urge Illinois lawmakers to defeat this measure.

We acknowledge that marijuana use likely has some medical benefits. Limited studies have shown that it can improve conditions related to appetite loss, nausea and vomiting and help ease pain caused by arthritis and other conditions.

But other, FDA-approved drugs already are available to treat each of these ailments.

And smoking marijuana regularly also can cause serious health problems. It can damage brain cells and cells in bronchial passages, which can hurt a person’s immune system. There also is not enough data to conclusively show what the long-term health effects of regular marijuana use are.

Finally, any medical benefits that legalizing pot would have are outweighed by the societal problems it could create.

Marijuana is a gateway drug that can lead users to try more dangerous, addictive drugs, creating a greater burden on an already-stressed health care system.

Marijuana users who drive are impaired, increasing the chances of serious automobile accidents similar to drunk-driving related accidents.

Legalization increases the chances of the drug falling into the hands of children and others who don’t need it for medical reasons. It also sends a message to children that drug use is OK.

Absorption
Cocaine enters the body in one of three ways: injection, smoking, or snorting.

Metabolism/Elimination
Cocaine is a strong stimulant to the central nervous system. Its effects can last anywhere from 20 minutes to several hours, depending on the content, purity, administration, and dosage of the drug.

Brief Overview
a. Cocaine users become dependent on the drug.
b. Crack is a form of the drug that is highly addictive.
c. Exposure to the drug can harm a developing fetus.
d. It produces short-lived senses of euphoria, the length depends on how the drug was administered.

Special Hazards Involving the Driving Task
a. Cocaine may successfully mask fatigue, however, high dosages impair judgment and interfere with the ability of the driver to concentrate.
b. Coordination and vision are impaired.
c. There is an increase in impulsive behaviors with tendencies to take more risks and create confusion within the user.

Effects with Other Drugs
a. Additive effects are noted when cocaine is combined with over-the-counter products, such as diet pills or antihistamines.
b. Cocaine taken with psychotropic drugs, especially antidepressants, can be extremely detrimental.
c. A person who has extremely high blood pressure and uses cocaine may suffer from a stroke or heart attack.
d. Some users combine cocaine with alcohol and sedatives to cushion the “crash” or feeling of depression and agitation that sometimes occurs as the effects of cocaine wear off.
e. A person using cocaine maintains the illusion of being alert and stimulated, although physical reactions are impaired.
f. Further research indicates that additive and antagonistic effects can be produced when cocaine is mixed with alcohol.
g. If cocaine is used in high doses, as in the case of overdose, alcohol will probably have an additive effect on the symptoms that eventually contribute to death.
h. When cocaine is injected in combination with heroin, sometimes called “speedballing,” there is an increased risk of toxicity, overdose, and death.

Heroin Abuse in the United StatesBy Joan F. Epstein and Joseph C. Gfroerer

Numerous reports have suggested a rise in heroin use in recent years, which has been attributed to young people who are smoking or sniffing rather than injecting. The purity of heroin has increased to a level that makes smoking and sniffing feasible. The increased purity and concern about AIDS may be causing the shift from injecting to smoking and sniffing among heroin users. This paper examines these issues in addition to examining the prevalence of heroin use. It also describes the characteristics of heroin users and trends in heroin use.

The data presented here come from a variety of sources. One source is the Community Epidemiology Work Group (CEWG), a network of researchers from major metropolitan areas of the United States and selected foreign countries who meet semiannually to discuss the current epidemiology of drug abuse.1 It provides ongoing community level surveillance of drug abuse though the collection and analysis of epidemiologic and ethnographic research data. Another source is “Pulse Check”, a series of qualitative interviews with ethnographers, treatment professionals and law enforcement agencies which provide a quick and subjective picture of what is happening in drug abuse across the country.2 The heroin retail price/purity system is a statistical system using information gathered by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Purchases and seizures meeting certain retail level criteria ranges are averaged each quarter to produce a national retail purity figure and a retail price figure.3 A computerized data base program is used to record, collate, and display the results of qualitative and quantitative chemical analysis of all drug evidence submitted to the Drug Enforcement Administration Lab. Purity data are based on printouts of average purities for the 1-to-10 gram, 1-to-10 ounce, and 1-to-10 kilogram ranges.5

The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) consists of two data collection efforts: data on drug abuse deaths reported by medical examiners in participating metropolitan areas and data collected on drug-related visits to a national probability sample of hospital emergency departments.5, 6 Data on client admissions to specialty substance abuse treatment programs are obtained from the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).7 TEDS, which is compiled by SAMHSA from reports from states, covers primarily publicly-funded treatment facilities and accounts for about half of all public and private admissions to treatment in the U.S. All states do not participate. The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) is an ongoing national probability survey that provides information on the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco in the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the U.S., 12 years old and older.8 Monitoring the Future (MTF) is an annual survey by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research under a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).9 Since 1975, it has surveyed a representative sample of all seniors in public and private schools in the coterminous United States. In 1991 MTF was expanded to include annual surveys of eighth and tenth graders.

THE WITS INN OFFERS a free assessment on the phoneour counselors will discuss the treatment plan, detox program
assessess if a professionally facilitated family intervention
is appropriate in your case. Travel plans will be made, addiction treatment center found,
health insurance for drug and alcohol treatment accessed and review cash budget for addiction rehab. Wits Inn recovery and Wits End Interventions working with Loriann Witte CAC

The loved ones, under the direction
of a trained interventionist
In family crisis everybodies energy starts to spin in all directions looking for the “right solution” Wits End Interventions pulls the family strength and power together to focus on getting the addict to addiction rehab treatment where the addict can get stable enough to find their own answers.

Drug addiction and alcoholism hurt
Addiction detox and rehab is the answer to stop the suffering of your addicted loved one and the family of addiction. call Loriann Witte CAC at Wits Inn Recovery and Wits End Intervention

In days past, it was commonly thought that a substance abuser had to want help before help would do any good. Today, we know better. We understand that just warning someone to stop using drugs for their own good does little to actually make them stop. Threats don’t often work either. Since the substance abuser really doesn’t have a choice, they simply become more deceptive about using their substance.

However, interventions, especially those conducted by a trained interventionist, are quite successful in convincing those who are abusing either alcohol or drugs to seek the help that they so desperately need and that they would otherwise turn away from.

In an intervention, the substance abuser is approached by a group of people who are concerned about this person’s well being. Notice that I did not use the word confronted. A confrontation is exactly what a properly conducted intervention is trying to avoid. Of course those who participate in the intervention must absolutely not be current substance abusers themselves.

Usually, the group consists of between three and five people. Each of these people must understand that addiction is a disease that has an impact on normal willpower. They must realize that the substance abuser has a finely honed set of defense mechanisms. They must also know that the substance abuser is unable to understand the true and ultimate consequences of their actions.

During the intervention, each person takes their turn to tell the addict how their substance abuse has adversely affected their personal relationship. While avoiding generalizations such as, “You drink too much,” each item should describe specific events when the abusers’ actions have led to problems. The person speaking should have been a first hand witness or participant in the incident and each incident should be described in unsparing detail.

Nevertheless most “civilian” interventions fail or break down because all of the parties are a little too close to the subject. Almost from the very beginning, the addict senses that he or she is being ganged up on. Their defense mechanisms begin to be raised. As this happens, those who are performing the intervention often become frustrated and their remarks become more and more accusatory. The addicts defense mechanisms become more and more entrenched, the communication breaks down and the intervention fails.

However, interventions are most successful when they are conducted by someone who is trained in the art. This person acts as a facilitator. Through their experience, they are able to help the group prepare their comments in advance. They know the kinds of statements that will move the intervention to a successful conclusion, and they know the “buzz words” and phrases that will result in failure.

The professional interventionist can see when the intervention is headed in the wrong direction and they know how to get it back on track without offending any of the parties involved. This ability to essentially referee the intervention and take the necessary steps to direct it to a successful conclusion is the reason that they so often succeed.

At The Wits Inn, in San Juan Capistrano & Palm Springs, CA, we have a staff of trained interventionists who are able travel anywhere in the country in order to provide the proper guidance necessary to conduct a successful intervention. We also have a full range of inpatient and outpatient services available for those who are ready to seek treatment for drug or alcohol addiction. For a free and confidential interview, please call us at 949-292-2000 or 749-653-1515. You may also visit our web site at www.wirecovery.com and www.WitsEndInterventions.com

Please don’t wait until “they gets ready to get help.” They may very well never get ready on their own. That was an old way of thinking – believing that a person had to get ready to get help. Once a person is locked into addiction, they become unable to process thoughts effectively. They are most often caught up in the pain of re-thinking the same thoughts of negativity over and over again for years and years, which spirals them deeper and deeper into hopelessness, resentment, & despair. Intervention raises the bottom, which means make this time now, is the bottom, stop, and don’t let them have to dig any deeper. In letting them to “hit bottom on their own,” the results manifest as jails, institutions, or death. The question becomes, ‘Is your family willing to let them sink that low,’ or do you want to use the therapeutic tool of intervention; and present them with the opportunity to improve the quality of life today?

Thank you for your interest in our services. As a person with over 22 years of personal recovery, and 20 years as a certified addiction counselor, I can assure you that a life free from chemical dependency is possible and achievable – No matter how grave the current situation.
Utilizing a qualified interventionist’s experience, strength and hope can be the cornerstone to changing a life of darkness and despair – to one of newfound hopes and dreams.
I look forward to the opportunity before us. It is my privilege and honor to assist you with this critical first step toward recovery.
Please feel free to contact me any time.
Sincerely,
Loriann Witte CAC
Cell: 949-292-2000.Loriann Witte CACwww.WitsEndInterventions.com This web site tells all about Interventions

____________________________________________________________________
1. What is an intervention? An intervention is attempt by family members and friends to help a chemically dependent person get help for his/her problem. These interventions are usually successful and often go onto a drug and alcohol treatment program and learn how to live life without the use of these substances. The purpose of interventions is to get substance abusers out of denial and show them the ways in which their disease is affecting the people they love the most. With the help of an intervention specialist and loved ones, the intervention process does not have to be painful, but can be the beginning of a new way of living for all those involved.
2. Do interventions work? It is believed that interventions have a 95-98% success rate when done under the guidance and supervision of a licensed intervention specialist and with the help of other people close to the individual needing the intervention. In some sense, interventions are very successful because although drugs and alcohol have essentially taken over a person’s life, it is still hard for the abuser to be confronted with his/her own behavior and know how it has affected others.
3. Does the drug or alcohol abuser have to be ready to get help? The straight answer to this question is no, the abuser does not have to be willing to get help, however successful interventions occur when there have been significant repercussions as a result of the person’s drinking or using. These events and occurrences can be used to show the chemically dependent person the ways in which life has become unmanageable.
Sincerely,
Loriann Witte CAC

Cell 949-292-2000. .

Loriann Witte CAC
Intervention is $4700 plus travel & the cost or co-pay of treatmentwww.WitsEndInterventions.com This web site tells all about Interventions

Just to give you my information so you know how to reach us.Loriann Witte CAC949-292-2000

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then present this pre-planned information,
in a loving way, to the person they are trying to help.
THIS IS DONE IN THE EFFORT TO
Break DENIAL SYSTEMS AND ILLUMINATES the PROBLEM
AS seen through the eyes of those who care most.

this presentation is done with the treatment plans
pre arranged and ready to be put into action.

For families who need help
approaching their loved one,
We have intervention services available
for A REASONABLE fee.
We use the Johnson METHOD, which consists of
preparing a script based on the observances of the concerned people.